vendredi 25 avril 2008

Elphomega - El Testimonio Libra [2007-192kbps]

Without stridencies and without grants Elphomega represents on the first of the most solid props ofspanish hip hop. He was born in Málaga in 1976 and with only fifteen years there turns into the Nazion Sur's ghostwriter, group emblem of a movement that for then was trying to make be listened hardly. His demos "Leyenda: Rap contienda" (1998) "Fácil de escuchar" (2000) and "Elphomega" (2002) has been a reference to the principal artists of rap in Spain from the first ones ninety in the uderground circuit. His first incursion in professional format came from Frank T's hand with a collaboration for his album "Frankattack" (Zona Bruta, 1999) then some collaborations came with Guateque All Stars and Hablando en Plata Squad in the first two works of the group, "A sangre fría" (Zona Bruta, 2001) and "Supervillanos dealquiler" (Zona Bruta, 2003) and he accompanied them in numerous concerts as semiofficial member. The first work in solitary came with the maxisingle "One manarmy" (Zona Bruta, 2004) debut that it brings over a bit more to the great public and that generates very good impressions. One year later he places on the record scene his first complete album "Homogeddon" (Zona bruta, 2005) great work that confirms it as the most serious and autodemanding lyricist of the spanish hip hop scene and that harvests excellent critiques:

"This album is a mouthful of fresh air to the scene rap of here. He is not among the classics but there goes way of it being." (GO Magazine)

"One of the best works of our hip hop listened in the last times." (RockdeLux)

Elphomega defends his "Homogeddon Tour" for the whole national territory and surprises with a simple but tremendously effective show based on the interaction between dj and mc, together with Dj Narko both realize a magnificent unfolding of skills to connect with the public with a show that has influenced other artists of rap. Of return to the studio Elphomega contributes on the third album of Hablando en Plata Squad "Ladivisión de la victoria" (Zona bruta, 2006) and in the project that joins to spanish with international mc'spromoted by the dj and producer El Cerebro, "Simbiosis" (Gris Materia, 2007).

Now Elphomega publishes his second solo album, "El testimonio Libra" (Zona Bruta, 2007) a very awaited album given the big expectations that his first work generated. One week before the publication of the disc could listen to an advance of ten tracks in his portal www.myspace.com/elphomega and with this work Elphomega has been the first artist who overcomes the barrier of 11.000 plays in one day, a record within reach of few ones. "El testimonio Libra" is an album that will not defraud to anybody and that it will take pleasure equally so much to the public hip hop more orthodox, with a real attitude to the hip hop competition and winks to the classic sound, as to the foreign ones to the movement for his rich spectrum of musical influences and an extent vocabulary that move away increasingly from the juvenile commanding anxiety. This one is an intense album loaded with subliminal messages and propitiously to the double or triple readings and that is discovered by every new scout. Both his title and his aesthetics reminds us to movies as " The conversation" and "All the president's men" and the intelligent references towards the pop culture return to be present of way in that alone Elphomega can do it.

Into the beats practically all the work relapses on the shoulders ofSr. Narko, dj and producer of the group Hablando en Plata Squad, which for this occasion moves away consciously from the sound that has made him famous with his group and penetrates in other less recognizable atmospheres, in order to manage to exploit Elphomega's versatility. Together with Sr. Narko completes the producers list Rayka (Hablando en Plata Squad), Zeta, Nerko, R de Rumba (Violadores del Verso) and Dj Vú. As for the featurings we find Kultama (VKR), Capaz (Hablando en Plata Squad) and Violadores del Verso, with a track that will make you shout … fire!!

Complex subject matters that go from the longed for infancy, "the fear of other one", dreamgirls and shocks with our alter ego, up to more trivial others as the adult magazines or the simple act of sleeping or having breakfast, but that in the writing and Elphomega's skills they manage to seem to be much more transcendental than they show off to simple sight. With a personnel felt of the competition that removes it from the topics of hip hop, Elphomega stamps on his rap a flexibility that few ones have, martian skills capable of confronting any sound. Elphomega with his second work comes to demonstrate that the things are not as they have showed us and that really there is something new under the sun, something new that writes itself with P and with H. Enjoy it.